15
Apr 2011

Everyone’s Coming!

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I adore birthdays. Your birthday, my birthday, doesn’t matter: it’s just so great to have a day in the middle of all the chaos of work and responsibilities that’s special.


{couldn’t help it, this made me laugh – borrowed from Mr. Humperdink’s Birthday Party on poppytalk handmade}

I still remember one of my earliest birthdays, probably the first I was old enough to know what’s going on, and my mom explained to me the whole concept. And she said, “and we’re going to have cake and ice cream and presents and everyone’s coming!”

Well, head-case that I was and still am, I still remember the images I had in my imagination: everyone’s coming? Where are they going to fit? Our house is so small, how will the whole world fit into our house? Will there be lines to get in? How will there be enough cake? So my birthday is like a national holiday huh?

Hence the reason everyone teases me about how much I love birthdays. It was my boyfriend’s mother’s day yesterday, and mine is on Sunday, and then boyfriend, brother, etc. are all coming up soon. And everyone will be there I’m sure!

Have a lovely weekend, friends.

Categories: Free For All Friday, thoughts
14
Apr 2011

I love Jam.

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….and by Jam, I mean Jim and Pam, and by Jim and Pam, I mean the Office.

The first time I watched it I was utterly confused – I just thought Michael Scott was a jerk (it was the Christmas episode with the Chinese gift swap thing, and the Ipod), and didn’t understand it at all. But at some point in college, we were bored so we rented the first season and I was hooked.

I’ve always found the Office to be a “controversially funny” show – you either love it or you hate it. And those of us that love the Office, judge people who “don’t get it,” and the people who don’t like it, judge us because they think Michael Scott is just mean or painful to watch or something. Do you agree? Don’t worry, I won’t judge lol.

I haven’t decided if I’ll watch once Steve Carrell is gone. But at any rate, the Office is back on tonight and Will Ferrell will be on it – can’t wait!

Categories: completely random, thirsty thursday
11
Apr 2011

Movie Review: Jane Eyre

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I am a sucker for period films. The new Jane Eyre movie did not disappoint!

I think one of the things I like most about period films is the scenery and the music. More than any other genre, it seems like they focus on the cinematography and these vignettes of imagery that are just breathtaking. Two of my favorites: Pride & Prejudice + Atonement (heartbreaking but a gorgeously done film).

Anyway, Jane Eyre is a much darker story than my all-time-favorite Jane Austen, but it’s still beautiful. This version of the story definitely goes back to the kind of darkness and haunting quality of the actual novel, but parts of it are really beautiful..

Also, just have to mention, they managed to make Mia Wasikowska look SO plain, but look at how pretty she is!

So the female perspective: excellent love story, beautifully done film. Kind of haunting.

The male perspective, courtesy of my boyfriend: “If I have to see her run through a field crying one more time…”

Happy Monday friends!

Categories: inspiration, lovely mondays, movies
08
Apr 2011

Judging a Book by Its Cover: So Big

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So I know the saying is NOT to judge a book by its cover, which is pretty true for people, but I as a designer + book lover cannot help but to do so with actual books. I thought it would be fun to do a post from time to time about how that works out for me!


This version was published by Harper Collins.

A quick note – I love to read older novels. I adore history and biographies, but fiction from the late 1700′s to the mid 20th century is my favorite. So most of these are probably going to be oldies but goodies.

This book cover spoke to me at once – the colors are gorgeous, and the simple but interesting design is awesome. It has a Deco-y kind of feel with the building in the middle…

….and the book did not disappoint! It’s the story of a woman in the very early 1900′s and her son, and the woman is a lover of beauty who ends up as a farmer’s wife, but manages to provide a better life for her son. Her son becomes part of that somewhat “lost generation” that Ernest Hemingway talks about though…a bit superficial and discontented.

It’s very character driven, so if you’re not into that, it’s probably not a book for you. But at any rate, it would be a very pretty addition to your shelves!

Happy Friday!

Categories: Free For All Friday, judging books & their covers
07
Apr 2011

Email Marketing: Thoughts?

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E-mail marketing is both a wonderful and irritating thing. It used to be the only way to reach out to your customers was by calling (time consuming + too personal) or mass mailing them (expensive, and they’ll probably throw it away!). The advent of email just opened up a whole world of possibilities for companies large and small.

But how effective is it? And how should it be used for a small business? I try not to use my mailing list very often at all – only once a month or so, if that.

The reason for that is that I detest the ones that email me every day – for example, one in particular, One King’s Lane, for a long time would send an email every day at 11:00 like clockwork. I don’t know why but that just annoyed me. It’s not a blog, it’s a retail store. If it were a blog I wouldn’t mind because that’s what I expect when I sign up for an RSS feed email.

So when they’re like that, I delete immediately. Inbox cleansing. What about you? I feel like email marketing is a place where you can really overdo it as a small business – so sending emails only when you have a good reason makes people more likely to read it.

One last thought: a lot of people use Constant Contact for their emails, but I have to say, they’re rather expensive. A fantastic alternative is Mail Chimp – I love these guys. It’s free for up to 2000 subscribers I believe and has basically all of the great features of Constant Contact, or at least everything you really need. If you need a solution for your mailing list, I would definitely check it out!

Do you use email marketing for your business, or as a customer, do you like/dislike it? Do you even read them?

Categories: business topics, tipsy tuesday
06
Apr 2011

I love office supplies.

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Seriously, I know it’s lame, but I can have the best time in an office supply store. Pens, paper, organizers…I’m in heaven. And now that I am a new member at Spark, I’m kind of super excited about having a little cubicle to accessorize. Something about it feels more official than a home office I suppose. Maybe because there’s actually other people around!

Anyway, so I did a little office supply shopping on Etsy today, and here are some cool items I’m thinking of snatching up.

Love the modern simplicity and beautiful wood used in this business card holder by andrewsreclaimed.

This bandolier is super clever and I love the photography in the cleverhands shop.

I saw someone put legs on an old suitcase and use it as a side table. Kind of like that idea, especially because I could stick stuff IN it too! Vintage mod suitcase by uglysanta

Recycled book organizer (so clever) by therecycledcrafter

Ambrosia pencil box by WoodNCreations

What about you? Could you care less or does a new pen make your day like it does mine? :-)

Categories: cool products/vendors
05
Apr 2011

Flowertown Festival: Summerville SC

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Every year in the beginning of April, the little sleepy town of Summerville, South Carolina (probably 20 miles-ish North of downtown Charleston) comes completely alive with the YMCA’s Flowertown Festival, with an estimated 250,000 visitors each year!

I have been going to this festival since I was a very little girl. My mother loves to tell the story of how much quieter and smaller the festival was when I was about three years old or so, and it is truly incredible how the festival has grown up since then. I looked it up: it was started in 1973 by the ladies of Summerville who wanted to build a Y type facility to keep the kids off the street. One of the first festivals made $1,200 and they were pretty stoked about it – how crazy to think where it is now…

One of the coolest things is how the festival is so intertwined in Azalea Park, so you find little pockets where you can step out of the hubbub, like that pretty little bridge. Potpourri, crafts, and treats (like those from my buddies at Sablee :-)) galore.

So if you’re ever in Charleston in early April, put Flowertown on your list! hope you liked the spring photos today!

See what’s going on around the world with the Communal Global blog link up…

Categories: Places to See
04
Apr 2011

A new look!

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Well, you might notice a few things have changed around here! As things have been developing with the blog and with my business, I’ve been paying attention to people’s feedback about my websites, and I decided now is the time to “start from scratch” and implement some of the changes that needed to happen.

So what’s different? I haven’t really changed my logo or brand identity or anything, but I did change up the way I’m presenting it a bit. The biggest difference is that I have moved everything to being at www.dodelinedesign.com. When I first started, I thought it was best to separate the stationery from the business design work, but I’ve now realized that I think they complement each other well. And hopefully people will find it easier to navigate. And although www.thequirkydesigner.com still works for the blog address, I did move its official home to blog.dodelinedesign.com. The RSS feed is still the same though, so no worries there!

If you have a chance to take a look and want to leave me some feedback, I’d love to hear your thoughts! As with everything in a small biz, it’s always a work in progress.

Which brings me to two bits of exciting news:

First up: as of last week, Dodeline Design has become a member of Spark, a group here in Charleston that works sort of like a business incubator, giving me access to office space on East Bay Street downtown and a community of entrepreneurs as a resource. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be a part of it, and it will be so fantastic to have a place to work downtown other than coffee shops!

Secondly, another store has picked up Dodeline stationery, The Scarlett Letter in Miami, Florida. So excited to have a presence in a sixth state!

Anyway, enough about me, back to normal tomorrow – I’ll have a very pretty post about the Flowertown Festival for you :-)

Categories: business topics, dodeline design updates
01
Apr 2011

Cooper River Bridge Run

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Happy April, otherwise known as Sarah’s-birthday-month!

This is absolutely the best time of year to come to Charleston. Well, maybe the beginning of March might have been a little more preferable since the pollen wasn’t as bad, but all the rain we’ve had this week has washed a good bit of it away. It’s not hot yet (and boy does it get hot in Charleston), and the weather is unbelievably gorgeous. Flowers and trees in bloom, the works.

And, we have about a zillion things going on this weekend! The bridge run is always a big deal, which is a huge event that goes on here over our beautiful Ravenel Bridge…


{found on charlestonbridgephotos.com}

That bridge was built I guess about five years ago, and we used to have these rickety beauties that were the terror of every 16 year old learning how to drive…

By the time I started driving over it it was – thankfully – one way, but anytime you got on that thing with an 18 wheeler you were just praying he wouldn’t try to pass you!

So for years Charleston has held a bridge run, and this weekend is the 34th annual…

I really like the poster this year – lots of color and really fun. People literally come from all over the world to participate – and do you know, I, the Charleston native, never have?? It’s on my punch list.

We also have Flowertown Festival this weekend, and I’ll be sharing photos of that on Monday! Till then my friends!

Categories: Free For All Friday
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